Aircraft door hinge rotation

ABSTRACT

An aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism including a hinge rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage end cargo door to a fuselage. The hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage so that an entirety of an axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, defined by the hinge, relative to the fuselage is located forward of an entirety of a major joint line between the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage. An uppermost portion of the major joint line comprises a joint line radius where a portion of the joint line radius formed by the aircraft fuselage end cargo door pivots within another portion of the joint line radius formed by the fuselage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/247,088 filed on Jan. 14, 2019 (now U.S. Pat. No. ______issued on______), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The exemplary embodiments generally relate to aircraft and in particularto aircraft cargo doors.

2. Brief Description of Related Developments

Cargo aircraft utilized for the transport of, e.g., bulky goods,generally utilized cargo doors to facilitate rapid and efficient loadingand subsequent unloading of the bulky goods. End loading of the aircraftthrough both the nose and tail contribute to expediting the loading andunloading. In order to load/unload through the nose, the cargo aircraftutilizes conventional nose cargo doors at the front of the cargoaircraft where either the conventional nose cargo door or the fuselageincludes corner hinge access door panels that provide for non-bindingrotation of the cargo door between open and closed positions. Examplesof cargo aircraft having the conventional nose cargo door and the hingeaccess door panels either on the fuselage or the door include the Boeing747 Freighter, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, and the Antonov AN-124 StrategicAirlifter. The conventional cargo door is generally coupled to thefuselage such that a rotation axis of the conventional cargo door,relative to the fuselage, is approximately in line with an aft edge ofthe conventional cargo door. To ensure that the conventional cargo doorrotates properly to an open position without interfering with thefuselage of the cargo aircraft, the corner hinge access door panels openor otherwise rotate away from the fuselage to provide clearance for therotation of the conventional cargo door relative to the fuselage.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, apparatuses and methods, intended to address at least theabove-identified concerns, would find utility.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples, which may or may notbe claimed, of the subject matter according to the present disclosure.

One example of the subject matter according to the present disclosurerelates to an aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism including ahinge rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage end cargo door to afuselage, the hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage endcargo door and the fuselage so that an axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door, defined by the hinge, relative to the fuselageis located forward of a major joint line between the aircraft fuselageend cargo door and the fuselage, wherein an uppermost portion of themajor joint line comprises a joint line radius where a portion of thejoint line radius formed by the aircraft fuselage end cargo door pivotswithin another portion of the joint line radius formed by the fuselage.

Another example of the subject matter according to the presentdisclosure relates to an aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanismincluding a pair of hinges rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage endcargo door to a fuselage, the pair of hinges being coupled to both theaircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage, and a common axis ofrotation defined by the pair of hinges, where the aircraft fuselage endcargo door rotates relative to the fuselage about the common axis ofrotation, and the common axis of rotation is located forward of a majorjoint line between the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and thefuselage, wherein a skin of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door,rotating about the common axis of rotation, forms an unarticulatedmonolithic surface and a skin of the fuselage adjacent the major jointline is unarticulated.

Still another example of the subject matter according to the presentdisclosure relates to an aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanismincluding a hinge rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage end cargo doorto a fuselage, the hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage endcargo door and the fuselage so as to form an axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door, and a major joint line defined by aninterface between the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage,the axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door beinglocated forward of the major joint line, wherein a skin of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door, rotating about the axis of rotation, forms anunarticulated monolithic surface and a skin of the fuselage adjacent themajor joint line is unarticulated.

Still another example of the subject matter according to the presentdisclosure relates to an aircraft comprising a fuselage, an aircraftfuselage end cargo door, wherein the aircraft fuselage end cargo doorcouples to the fuselage at a major joint line, and a fuselage end cargodoor mechanism comprising a hinge rotatably coupling the aircraftfuselage end cargo door to the fuselage, the hinge being coupled to boththe aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage so that an axis ofrotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, defined by the hinge,relative to the fuselage is located forward of the major joint linebetween the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage, whereinan uppermost portion of the major joint line comprises a joint lineradius where a portion of the joint line radius formed by the aircraftfuselage end cargo door pivots within another portion of the joint lineradius formed by the fuselage.

Still another example of the subject matter according to the presentdisclosure relates to an aircraft comprising a fuselage, an aircraftfuselage end cargo door, wherein the aircraft fuselage end cargo doorcouples to the fuselage at a major joint line, and an aircraft fuselageend cargo door mechanism comprising a pair of hinges rotatably couplingthe aircraft fuselage end cargo door to the fuselage, the pair of hingesbeing coupled to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and thefuselage, and a common axis of rotation defined by the pair of hinges,where the aircraft fuselage end cargo door rotates relative to thefuselage about the common axis of rotation, and the common axis ofrotation is located forward of the major joint line between the aircraftfuselage end cargo door and the fuselage, wherein a skin of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door, rotating about the common axis of rotation,forms an unarticulated monolithic surface and a skin of the fuselageadjacent major joint line is unarticulated.

Still another example of the subject matter according to the presentdisclosure relates to an aircraft comprising a fuselage, an aircraftfuselage end cargo door configured to interface with the fuselage, andan aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism comprising a hingerotatably coupling the aircraft fuselage end cargo door to the fuselage,the hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo door andthe fuselage so as to form an axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselageend cargo door, and a major joint line defined by the interface betweenthe aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage, the axis ofrotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door being located forwardof the major joint line, wherein a skin of the aircraft fuselage endcargo door, rotating about the axis of rotation, forms an unarticulatedmonolithic surface and a skin of the fuselage adjacent major joint lineis unarticulated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described examples of the present disclosure in generalterms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, whichare not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein like referencecharacters designate the same or similar parts throughout the severalviews, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a schematic side view illustration of an aircraft inaccordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a schematic perspective view illustration of a portion of theaircraft in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a schematic perspective view illustration of a portion of theaircraft in FIG. 1A showing the opening to an interior cargo area of theaircraft with a nose cargo door removed for clarity;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustration of a portion of theaircraft of FIG. 1 in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view illustration of a portion of the aircraftof FIG. 1 in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view illustration of a portion of theaircraft of FIG. 1 in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view illustration an aircraft fuselageend cargo door mechanism in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view illustration of a portion of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of FIG. 5 in accordance withone or more aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A-7D is a schematic side view illustration of an opening/closingsequence of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of FIG. 5 inaccordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8A is a schematic perspective view illustration of a forward ornose portion of an aircraft in accordance with one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 8B is a schematic perspective view illustration of the forward ornose portion of the aircraft of FIG. 8A in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8C is a schematic side view illustration of the forward or noseportion of the aircraft of FIG. 8A in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8D is a schematic side view illustration of the forward or noseportion of the aircraft of FIG. 8A in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view illustration of an aft portion of anaircraft in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a method of use for the aircraft fuselageend cargo door mechanism 100 of FIG. 5 in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of aircraft production and servicemethodology in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1A-1C, the aspects of the present disclosuredescribed herein provide an aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism100 and an aircraft 1000 including the aircraft fuselage end cargo doormechanism 100. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism 100 isconfigured so as to facilitate opening and closing of an aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110 without interfering with a fuselage 1001 ofthe aircraft 1000. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism 100rotatably couples the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 to thefuselage 1001 of the aircraft 1000 such that the aircraft fuselage endcargo door 110 rotates freely without binding on the fuselage 1001during opening and closing operations of the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor 110, and without the need for corner hinge access door panels.Eliminating the corner hinge access door panels reduces the part countof the aircraft 1000, which reduces the cost and weight of the aircraft1000, and may result in less maintenance downtime for the aircraft 1000.As will be described herein, when the aircraft fuselage end cargo door110 rotates between an open position 198 (FIG. 2 ) and a closed position199 (FIG. 1B), the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 rotates relativeto the fuselage 1001, e.g., about 105 degrees (in some aspects therotation may be more or less than about 105 degrees) to provide accessto an interior cargo area 1006 of the aircraft 1000.

The aspects of the present disclosure will be described herein withrespect to the aircraft 1000. The aircraft 1000 generally includes anairframe 1002 forming at least the fuselage 1001 which extendslongitudinally along a longitudinal axis 1999 of the aircraft 1000.Located toward a forward portion 1001F of the fuselage 1001 is a cockpit1003 (the cockpit 1003 including at least a windshield 1004) and afuselage nose cone 1008. In one aspect, the forward portion 1001F of thefuselage 1001 may also include a projection 1020 extending beyond aforward end edge 1010 of the fuselage 1001. Located toward an aftportion 1001R of the fuselage 1001 are a vertical stabilizer 1005V,horizontal stabilizers 1005H, and a tail cone 140. The airframe 1002further includes an aircraft skin 1002S disposed about the fuselage 1001defining the interior cargo area 1006.

It should be understood that while the aircraft is depicted as adouble-deck, wide body cargo freighter, such as, e.g., the Boeing747-8F, designed for the transport of goods, the aircraft 1000 may beany aircraft including a single-deck aircraft, a narrow body aircraft,or any other suitable aircraft having an aircraft fuselage end cargodoor 110 that forms at least a portion of the fuselage nose cone 1008 ortail cone 140. It should further be understood that while the aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110 is substantially described herein withrespect to a nose cargo door 120 disposed at the forward portion 1001Fof the aircraft 1000, the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 may format least the fuselage nose cone 1008 (and in one aspect may include thecockpit 1003 and/or a portion of the fuselage 1001), the tail cone 140,or any other suitable portion of the aircraft 1000. In one aspect, theaircraft 1000 includes the nose cargo door 120 as illustrated in FIGS.1A and 1B. In another aspect, the aircraft 1000 includes the tail cargodoor 150 as illustrated in FIG. 9 . In still other aspects, the aircraft1000 includes both the nose cargo door 120 and the tail cargo door 150.

Referring to FIGS. 1A-1C, 8A, and 9 , as noted above, in order tofacilitate the loading and unloading of cargo from the interior cargoarea 1006, the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 is coupled to oneend (i.e., the forward portion 1001F or the aft portion 1001R) of thefuselage 1001 with the aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism 100.In one aspect, the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 is provided toseal an opening 1050 (see FIG. 1C) at the forward portion 1001F of thefuselage 1001 where the opening 1050 provides access to the interiorcargo area 1006. In another aspects, the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor 110 is provided to seal an opening 1051 (FIG. 9 ) at the aftportion 1001R of the fuselage 1001 where the opening 1051 providesaccess to the interior cargo area 1006. For example, the interior cargoarea 1006 of the fuselage 1001 extends along the longitudinal axis 1999of the aircraft 1000 between the forward portion 1001F and the aftportion 1001R and may at least in part form one or more of the openings1050, 1051. In one aspect, a portion of the interior cargo area 1006 maybe defined by the nose cargo door 120 or the tail cargo door 150. Thenose cargo door 120 is configured to cover the opening 1050, enclosingthe interior cargo area 1006 and sealing or otherwise closing theinterior cargo area 1006 from an outside environment. Similarly, thetail cargo door 150 is configured to cover the opening 1051, enclosingthe interior cargo area 1006 and sealing or otherwise closing theinterior cargo area 1006 from an outside environment.

Referring to FIGS. 1B, 2, 3, and 4 in one aspect, the nose cargo door120 includes a frame 120F (FIG. 4 ), an exterior skin 123, a forward tip124, an aft edge 121, and surfaces 125A-125C, the surfaces 125A-125Cdefining a notched portion 125. Generally, the frame 120F and theexterior skin 123 of the nose cargo door 120 provide load-bearingcapabilities. With the nose cargo door in a closed position 199, theexterior skin 123 is contoured to interface with the aircraft skin 1002Sof the fuselage 1001 so as to unimpede the aerodynamics of the aircraft1000. As seen best in FIG. 1B, in one aspect, with the nose cargo door120 disposed at the forward portion 1001F of the aircraft 1000, the aftedge 121 of the nose cargo door 120 abuts the forward end edge 1010 ofthe fuselage 1001 and conforms to a perimeter 1010P of the forward endedge 1010. With the aft edge 121 of the nose cargo door 120 abutting theforward end edge 1010 of the fuselage 1001, the surfaces 125A-125C,defining the notched portion 125, abut the projection 1020 of thefuselage 1001. The aft edge 121 abutting the forward end edge 1010 andthe surfaces 125A-125C abutting the projection 1020 define a joint line200 between the nose cargo door 120 and the fuselage 1001. The nosecargo door 120 couples to the fuselage 1001 about the joint line 200 andis configured so as to be releasable to pivot, via the aircraft fuselageend cargo door mechanism 100, about a door axis of rotation 122 betweenthe open position 198 and a closed position 199 for loading or unloadingof cargo into and out of the interior cargo area 1006 of the aircraft1000. In one aspect, the aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism 100couples the nose cargo door 120, at the notched portion 125, to theprojection 1020 of the fuselage 1001 such that the nose cargo door 120rotates in direction 122D1 to the open position (FIG. 2 ) (i.e., thenose cargo door 120 opens such that the nose cargo door 120 is coupledto and is upheld by (so as to be at least partially above) theprojection 1020 of the fuselage 1001).

As can be seen in FIGS. 1B and 3 , the joint line 200 is generallydivided into two parts, a major joint line 201 portion and a minor jointline 205 portion. The major joint line 201 is defined by the interfacebetween the aft edge 121 of the nose cargo door 120 and the forward endedge 1010 of the fuselage 1001, each of which at least partiallycircumscribe the fuselage 1001 in a common plane CP (FIG. 1B), andexcludes the minor joint line 205 portion of the joint line 200. Themajor joint line 201 includes an uppermost portion 202 forming a jointline radius 202R. The minor joint line 205 is defined by the interfacebetween the surfaces 125A-125C of the notched portion 125 and theprojection 1020. For example, when the nose cargo door 120 is closed,the notched portion 125 extends from the aft edge 121 towards theforward tip 124 of the nose cargo door 120 along the longitudinal axis1999 of the aircraft 1000 (i.e., the surface 125A and the surface 125Cextend along the longitudinal axis 1999 while surface 125B crosses(i.e., is traverse to) the longitudinal axis 1999). The notched portion125 extends from the aft edge 121 a distance Z. The projection 1020 ofthe fuselage 1001 is configured to mate with the surfaces 125A-125C ofthe notched portion 125 such that each of the surfaces 125A-125C abuts arespective side 1020A, 1020C and front 1020B of the projection 1020. Thenotched portion 125 is configured such that when the nose cargo door 120is rotated to the open position 198 (FIG. 2 ), the notched portion 125may provide clearance for at least a portion of the fuselage 1001, suchas, e.g., the windshield 1004 of the aircraft 1000.

Referring to FIGS. 1B and 4 , while in a closed position 199, such as,when in flight, the nose cargo door 120 couples to the fuselage 1001,about the joint line 200, so that the interior cargo area 1006 is sealedfrom an outside atmosphere. With the nose cargo door 120 coupled to thefuselage 1001, a gap 129 is formed between the nose cargo door 120 andthe fuselage 1001. In order to reduce aerodynamic impedances, the nosecargo door 120 includes at least one of a pressure seal 400 and anaerodynamic seal 401 disposed along the aft edge 121 of the nose cargodoor 120 such that the at least one of a pressure seal 400 and anaerodynamic seal 401 seals the gap 129 formed around the perimeter ofthe joint line 200.

Referring to FIGS. 1B and 2 , the nose cargo door 120 may furtherinclude an actuator 128 to drive the nose cargo door 120 between theopen position 198 and closed position 199. Pivoting of the nose cargodoor 120 to the open position 198 includes rotating or otherwise drivingthe nose cargo door 120, with the actuator 128, about the door axis ofrotation 122 in direction 122D1. In one aspect, pivoting of the nosecargo door 120 from the open position 198 to the closed position 199includes rotating or otherwise driving the nose cargo door 120, with theactuator 128 and/or under the impetus of gravity, about the door axis ofrotation 122 in direction 122D2. In one aspect, the exterior skin 123 ofthe aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110, rotating about the door axisof rotation 122, forms an unarticulated monolithic surface.

Referring to now FIGS. 1A, 5, 6, and 7A-7D, the aircraft fuselage endcargo door mechanism 100 includes a hinge 300 rotatably coupling theaircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 to the fuselage 1001. The hinge 300is coupled to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 and thefuselage 1001 so that the door axis of rotation 122 of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110, relative to the fuselage 1001, is locatedforward of the major joint line 201, where a hinge axis of rotation 350of the hinge 300 defines the door axis of rotation 122. The hinge 300may be a compact door hinge including a fuselage-side pivot mount 310configured to couple with the fuselage 1001, and a door-side bracket 320pivotally coupled to the fuselage-side pivot mount 310 by a bearing 330,the door-side bracket 320 configured to couple with the aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110.

The fuselage-side pivot mount 310 includes a surface 310S (whichinterfaces with a frame of the fuselage 1001) and attachment features311-314 (see FIG. 6 ). In one aspect, the attachment features 311-314 ofthe fuselage-side pivot mount 310 are configured to couple thefuselage-side pivot mount 310 to the fuselage 1001. In one aspect, theattachment features 311-314 are apertures, through which any suitablefastener passes to secure the fuselage-side pivot mount 310 to anysuitable structure of the fuselage 1001 such as, e.g., one or more of abulkhead 549, stringers 550, or any other suitable structure of theairframe 1002 (see FIG. 8B). The fuselage-side pivot mount 310 furtherincludes an aperture 315 (FIG. 6 ) extending along the hinge axis ofrotation 350 and having a diameter X through which any suitable fastener328 may pass to couple the fuselage-side pivot mount 310 and thedoor-side bracket 320. The hinge 300 is configured so that, whenassembled to the fuselage 1001 and the aircraft fuselage end cargo door110, the fuselage-side pivot mount 310 is at least partially locatedwithin an area 399, e.g., such as within a width 326 defined by the aftedge 121 of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110.

The door-side bracket 320 includes an arm 325 having a coupling surface325S and a mounting member 327 having a mounting surface 327S. Thecoupling surface 325S of the arm 325 and the mounting surface 327S ofthe mounting member are configured to couple to any suitable structureof the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 so as to rotatably couplethe aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 to the airframe 1002 of thefuselage 1001. The door-side bracket 320 further includes an aperture329 through which the door-side bracket 320 couples to the bearing 330and the fastener 328. As noted above, the door-side bracket 320 isconfigured to pivot, via the bearing 330, relative to the fuselage-sidepivot mount 310 about the hinge axis of rotation 350 in direction 390 adistance 300R, which distance 300R may be about 105 degrees (in someaspects the rotation may be more or less than about 105 degrees). In oneaspect, the bearing 330 is a spherical bearing, while in other aspects,the bearing 330 is any suitable bearing to facilitate pivoting of thedoor-side bracket 320 with respect to the fuselage-side pivot mount 310about the hinge axis of rotation 350. The spherical bearing may providefor unbinding rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110relative to the fuselage 1001 such under loading from wind impingingagainst the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110, such as when theaircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 is being opened or closed with theaircraft 1000 parked at an airport.

As noted above, the hinge 300 defines the door axis of rotation 122 suchthat the hinge axis of rotation 350 of the hinge 300 and the door axisof rotation 122 are coaxial. The hinge axis of rotation 350 and dooraxis of rotation 122 are located forward of the major joint line 201 adistance 598 (FIGS. 3, 6, 7A) of at least about nine inches; while inother aspect, the distance 598 is between about nine inches and abouttwelve inches forward of the major joint line 201. In another aspect,the distance 598 may be any suitable distance less than about nineinches or more than about twelve inches. In one aspect, as illustratedin FIG. 3 , a portion 205P of the minor joint line 205 adjacent thehinge 300 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis 1999 at least thedistance 598 so that the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 does notbind on the fuselage 1001 during relative rotation of the nose cargodoor 120 and the fuselage 1001; while in other aspects, the portion 205Pof the minor joint line 205 may extend parallel to the longitudinal axis1999 twice the distance of distance 598. In another aspect, the minorjoint line 205 may extend parallel to the longitudinal axis 1999 anysuitable distance so that the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110rotates freely (e.g., non-binding rotation) relative to the fuselage1001.

Referring to FIGS. 7A-7D, in rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor 110 relative to the fuselage 1001 without the aircraft fuselage endcargo door 110 binding on the fuselage 1001 is effected by the jointline radius 202R of the uppermost portion 202 of the major joint line201. For example, the joint line radius 202R of the uppermost portion202 of the major joint line 201 is configured to, at least in part,substantially prevent interference between the aircraft fuselage endcargo door 110 and the fuselage 1001. The joint line radius 202Rincludes a portion 202RD formed by the aircraft fuselage end cargo door110 and a portion 202RF formed by the fuselage 1001. The portion 202RDof the joint line radius 202R formed by the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor 110 is configured to pivot within the portion 202RF of the jointline radius 202R formed by the fuselage 1001. In one aspect, a radius ofthe joint line radius 202R is defined by the distance 598 such that theradius of the joint line radius 202R is substantially equal to thedistance 598 that the axis of rotation 122 is spaced from the majorjoint line 201. Here, a center 203 of the joint line radius 202R issubstantially co-located with the door axis of rotation 122 (and thehinge axis of rotation 350) of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110.In one aspect, an arc length L of the joint line radius 202R has acentral angle α of about 45°, where the central angle α has a vertex 204substantially co-located at the door axis of rotation 122 of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 so that as the aircraft fuselageend cargo door 110 pivots, the portion 202RD of the aircraft fuselageend cargo door 110 does not bind on the portion 202RF of the fuselage1001. In other aspects, the central angle α may be more or less thanabout 45°. For example, where the fuselage 1001 has an oval crosssection (such as with the nose cargo door 120) at the major joint line201 the central angle α may be about 45°. Where the fuselage 1001 has acircular cross section at the major joint line 201 (such as with a cargodoor inclusive of the cockpit as illustrated in FIG. 8A) the centralangle α may be about 30°.

In one aspect, the hinge 300 forms a load path configured to transferdoor loads from a nose side 300N of the hinge 300 to a fuselage side300F of the hinge 300 along a common axis (e.g., the axis of rotation122). The hinge 300 provides increased stability, compared to goose-neckhinges that have a goose-neck shaped that pivots about the hinge axis ofrotation and to which the door is coupled. For example, the load pathcreated from the fuselage side 300F of the joint line 200 to the mainbody of the fuselage 1001 transfers door loads to the fuselage 1001through the axis of rotation 122 without bending moments that wouldotherwise be induced by goose-neck shaped hinge linkages.

Referring to FIG. 8B, in another aspect, the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor 110 is rotatably coupled to the fuselage 1001 with a pair of hinges500 including a first hinge 501 and a second hinge 502. Each of thefirst hinge 501 and the second hinge 502 is substantially similar to thehinge 300 described above such that each hinge 501, 502 of the pair ofhinges 500 couples to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 andthe fuselage 1001 in the manner described with respect to hinge 300. Inone aspect, the hinges 501, 502 of the pair of hinges 500 couple to oneor more of a bulkhead 549, stringers 550, or any other suitablestructure of the airframe 1002 in any suitable manner. The first hinge501 of the pair of hinges 500 includes a first axis of rotation 510 andthe second hinge 502 of the pair of hinges 500 includes a second axis ofrotation 511. Each of the first and second axis of rotations 510, 511are located forward of the major joint line 201 between the aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110 and the fuselage 1001 in the mannerdescribed above with respect to hinge 300. In one aspect, the first axisof rotation 510 and the second axis of rotation 511 are substantiallycoaxial with each other so as to form a common axis of rotation 515 ofthe aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 which is substantially similarto the hinge axis of rotation 350 described above.

In one aspect, the first hinge 501 and the second hinge 502 arelaterally spaced from each other, relative to a longitudinal axis 1999of the fuselage 1001, so as to stably maintain rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110 relative to the fuselage 1001. For example,the first hinge 501 and the second hinge 502 are laterally spaced fromeach other a distance 599 of between about seven feet and about eightfeet to provide structural stability to the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor 110. In another aspect, the distance 599 may be less than aboutseven feet or more than about eight feet, and such distance may dependon an aircraft configuration (e.g., wide body, narrow body, etc.).

In FIGS. 1A-3 , the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 is illustratedas the nose cargo door 120 that includes the portion of the aircraft1000 forward of the cockpit 1003 (e.g., fuselage nose cone 1008).Referring to FIGS. 1A and 8A-8D, in one aspect, the aircraft fuselageend cargo door 110 includes the cockpit 1003 and/or a portion of thefuselage 1001 that is disposed aft of the fuselage nose cone 1008. Inthis aspect, the joint line 200 is located a distance Y from, e.g., theforward end 700 of the aircraft 1000 such that the aircraft fuselage endcargo door 110 includes the cockpit 1003 and/or a portion of thefuselage 1001. In this aspect, the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110may have a circular loft or surface shape as seen in FIG. 8A, otherwisethe aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 is rotatably coupled to thefuselage 1001 as described above with respect to hinges 300, 500, 501.With the joint line 200 at the distance Y, the central angle α (FIGS. 8Cand 8D) of joint line radius 202R may be about 30°, with a vertex 204substantially co-located at the door axis of rotation 122 of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door 110. In other aspects, the centralangle α may be more or less than about 30°. In this aspect, the aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110 may define a portion of the interior cargoarea 1006 (i.e., cargo may be stored within the aircraft fuselage endcargo door 110). In another aspect, referring to FIG. 9 , an aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110 may be located at the aft portion 1001R ofthe aircraft. In this aspect, the aft portion 1001R may include theprojection 1020 extending beyond an aft end edge 1030 of the fuselage1001 and the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 may be substantiallysimilar to the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 described withrespect to FIGS. 8A-8D.

Referring now to FIGS. 1A, 7A-7E, and 10 , a method 5000 of use for theaircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism 100 is illustrated. Theaircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism 100 is configured to couplethe aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 and the fuselage 1001 of theaircraft 1000, such that the aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism100 rotates relative to the fuselage 1001 and loads of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door mechanism 100 are applied to the fuselage 1001through the aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism 100.

As noted above, the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 is coupled tothe fuselage 1001 with the hinge 300 a distance 598 from the major jointline 201 of the joint line 200 (FIG. 10 , Block 5001). The aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110 coupled to the fuselage 1001 of the aircraft1000 rotates about the door axis of rotation 122 in direction 122D suchthat the portion 202RD of the joint line radius 202R formed by theaircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 pivots within the portion 202RF ofthe joint line radius 202R formed by the fuselage 1001 (FIG. 10 , Block5002). As the portion 202RD of the joint line radius 202R formed by theaircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 pivots relative to the portion202RF of the joint line radius 202R formed by the fuselage 1001, theportion 202RD of the joint line radius 202R formed by the aircraftfuselage end cargo door 110 does not bind or interfere with the portion202RF of the joint line radius 202R formed by the fuselage 1001. As theaircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 pivots relative the fuselage 1001,the loads of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door 110 are transferred tothe fuselage 1001 (FIG. 10 , Block 5003).

Examples of the present disclosure may be described in the context ofaircraft manufacturing and service method 2000 as shown in FIG. 11 . Inother aspects, the examples of the present disclosure may be applied inany suitable industry, such as e.g., automotive, maritime, aerospace,etc. With respect to aircraft manufacturing, during pre-production,illustrative method 2000 may include specification and design (Block2001) of aircraft 1000 (FIG. 1A) and material procurement (Block 2002).During production, component and subassembly manufacturing (Block 2003)and system integration (Block 2004) of aircraft 1000 may take place.Thereafter, aircraft 1000 may go through certification and delivery(Block 2005) to be placed in service (Block 2006). While in service,aircraft 1000 may be scheduled for routine maintenance and service(Block 2007). Routine maintenance and service may include modification,reconfiguration, refurbishment, etc. of one or more systems of aircraft1000 which may include the aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism100 as described herein.

Each of the processes of illustrative method 2000 may be performed orcarried out by a system integrator, a third party, and/or an operator(e.g., a customer). For the purposes of this description, a systemintegrator may include, without limitation, any number of aircraftmanufacturers and major-system subcontractors; a third party mayinclude, without limitation, any number of vendors, subcontractors, andsuppliers; and an operator may be an airline, leasing company, militaryentity, service organization, and so on.

Apparatus(es) and method(s) shown or described herein may be employedduring any one or more of the stages of the manufacturing and servicemethod 2000. For example, components or subassemblies corresponding tocomponent and subassembly manufacturing (Block 2003) may be fabricatedor manufactured in a manner similar to components or subassembliesproduced while aircraft 1000 is in service (Block 2006). Also, one ormore examples of the apparatus(es), method(s), or combination thereofmay be utilized during production stages 2003 and 2004, for example, bysubstantially expediting assembly of or reducing the cost of aircraft1000. Similarly, one or more examples of the apparatus or methodrealizations, or a combination thereof, may be utilized, for example andwithout limitation, while aircraft 1000 is in service (Block 2006)and/or during maintenance and service (Block 2007).

The following are provided in accordance with the aspects of the presentdisclosure:

A1. An aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism comprising:

a hinge rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage end cargo door to afuselage, the hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage endcargo door and the fuselage so that an axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door, defined by the hinge, relative to the fuselageis located forward of a major joint line between the aircraft fuselageend cargo door and the fuselage;

wherein an uppermost portion of the major joint line comprises a jointline radius where a portion of the joint line radius formed by theaircraft fuselage end cargo door pivots within another portion of thejoint line radius formed by the fuselage.

A2. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein a center of the joint line radius is substantially co-locatedwith the axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

A3. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein an arc length of the joint line radius has a central angle ofabout 45° or about 30°, where the central angle has a vertexsubstantially co-located at the axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door.

A4. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,comprising a second hinge rotatably coupling the aircraft fuselage endcargo door to the fuselage, the second hinge being coupled to both theaircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage so that a second axisof rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, defined by thesecond hinge, relative to the fuselage is located forward of a majorjoint line between the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and thefuselage.

A5. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A4,wherein the axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation aresubstantially coincident with each other so as to form a common axis ofrotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

A6. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A4,wherein the hinge and the second hinge are laterally spaced from eachother, relative to a longitudinal axis of the fuselage, so as to stablymaintain rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door relative tothe fuselage.

A7. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A6,wherein the hinge and the second hinge are laterally spaced from eachother a distance of between about seven feet and about eight feet.

A8. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein the hinge forms a load path configured to transfer door loadsfrom a nose side of the hinge to a fuselage side of the hinge.

A9. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein the axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door islocated at least about nine inches forward of the major joint line.

A10. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein the axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door islocated between about nine inches and about twelve inches forward of themajor joint line.

A11. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein a skin of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, rotating aboutthe axis of rotation, forms an unarticulated monolithic surface.

A12. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein the hinge comprises:

a fuselage-side pivot mount configured to couple with the fuselage; and

a door-side bracket configured to couple with the aircraft fuselage endcargo door;

wherein the door-side bracket is pivotally coupled to the fuselage-sidepivot mount by a bearing.

A13. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A12,wherein the bearing is a spherical bearing.

A14. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A12,wherein the hinge is configured so that, when assembled to the fuselageand aircraft fuselage end cargo door, the fuselage-side pivot mount islocated within an area defined by an edge of the aircraft fuselage endcargo door.

A15. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein the aircraft fuselage end cargo door comprises one or more of anose cargo door and a tail cargo door.

A16. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A15,wherein the nose cargo door comprises a cockpit area.

A17. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein the fuselage end cargo door comprises a fuselage nose cone.

A18. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A1,wherein the fuselage end cargo door comprises a fuselage tail cone.

B1. An aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism comprising:

a pair of hinges rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage end cargo doorto a fuselage, the pair of hinges being coupled to both the aircraftfuselage end cargo door and the fuselage;

and

a common axis of rotation defined by the pair of hinges, where

the aircraft fuselage end cargo door rotates relative to the fuselageabout the common axis of rotation, and

the common axis of rotation is located forward of a major joint linebetween the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage;

wherein a skin of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, rotating aboutthe common axis of rotation, forms an unarticulated monolithic surfaceand a skin of the fuselage adjacent major joint line is unarticulated.

B2. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein an uppermost portion of the major joint line comprises a jointline radius where a portion of the joint line radius formed by theaircraft fuselage end cargo door pivots within another portion of thejoint line radius formed by the fuselage.

B3. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B2,wherein a center of the joint line radius is substantially co-locatedwith the common axis of rotation.

B4. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B2,wherein an arc length of the joint line radius has a central angle ofabout 45° or about 30°, where the central angle has a vertexsubstantially co-located at the common axis of rotation.

B5. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein one hinge of the pair of hinges is laterally spaced from anotherhinge in the pair of hinges, relative to a longitudinal axis of thefuselage, so as to stably maintain rotation of the aircraft fuselage endcargo door relative to the fuselage.

B6. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B5,wherein one hinge of the pair of hinges is laterally spaced from anotherhinge of the pair of hinges a distance of between about seven feet andabout eight feet.

B7. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein each hinge of the pair of hinges form a respective load pathconfigured to transfer door loads from a nose side of the hinge to afuselage side of the hinge.

B8. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein the common axis of rotation is located at least about nineinches forward of the major joint line.

B9. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein the common axis of rotation is located between about nine inchesand about twelve inches forward of the major joint line.

B10. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein each hinge of the pair of hinges comprises:

a fuselage-side pivot mount configured to couple with the fuselage; and

a door-side bracket configured to couple with the aircraft fuselage endcargo door;

wherein the door-side bracket is pivotally coupled to the fuselage-sidepivot mount by a bearing.

B11. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B10,wherein the bearing is a spherical bearing.

B12. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B10,wherein each hinge of the pair of hinges is configured so that, whenassembled to the fuselage and aircraft fuselage end cargo door, thefuselage-side pivot mount is located within an area defined by an edgeof the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

B13. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein the aircraft fuselage end cargo door comprises one or more of anose cargo door and a tail cargo door.

B14. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B13,wherein the nose cargo door comprises a cockpit area.

B15. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein the fuselage end cargo door comprises a fuselage nose cone.

B16. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph B1,wherein the fuselage end cargo door comprises a fuselage tail cone.

C1. An aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism comprising:

a hinge rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage end cargo door to afuselage, the hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage endcargo door and the fuselage so as to form an axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door; and

a major joint line defined by an interface between the aircraft fuselageend cargo door and the fuselage, the axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door being located forward of the major joint line;

wherein a skin of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, rotating aboutthe axis of rotation, forms an unarticulated monolithic surface and askin of the fuselage adjacent major joint line is unarticulated.

C2. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,wherein an uppermost portion of the major joint line comprises a jointline radius where a portion of the joint line radius formed by theaircraft fuselage end cargo door pivots within another portion of thejoint line radius formed by the fuselage.

C3. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C2,wherein a center of the joint line radius is substantially co-locatedwith the axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

C4. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C2,wherein an arc length of the joint line radius has a central angle ofabout 45° or about 30°, where the central angle has a vertexsubstantially co-located at the axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door.

C5. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,comprising a second hinge rotatably coupling the aircraft fuselage endcargo door to the fuselage, the second hinge being coupled to both theaircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage so as to form a secondaxis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

C6. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C5,wherein the axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation aresubstantially coincident with each other so as to form a common axis ofrotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

C7. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C5,wherein the hinge and the second hinge are laterally spaced from eachother, relative to a longitudinal axis of the fuselage, so as to stablymaintain rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door relative tothe fuselage.

C8. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C7,wherein the hinge and the second hinge are laterally spaced from eachother a distance of between about seven feet and about eight feet.

C9. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,wherein the hinge forms a load path configured to transfer door loadsfrom a nose side of the hinge to a fuselage side of the hinge.

C10. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,wherein the axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door islocated at least about nine inches forward of the major joint line.

C11. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,wherein the axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door islocated between about nine inches and about twelve inches forward of themajor joint line.

C12. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,wherein the hinge comprises:

a fuselage-side pivot mount configured to couple with the fuselage; and

a door-side bracket configured to couple with the aircraft fuselage endcargo door;

wherein the door-side bracket is pivotally coupled to the fuselage-sidepivot mount by a bearing.

C13. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C12,wherein the bearing is a spherical bearing.

C14. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C12,wherein the hinge is configured so that, when assembled to the fuselageand aircraft fuselage end cargo door, the fuselage-side pivot mount islocated within an area defined by an edge of the aircraft fuselage endcargo door.

C15. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,wherein the aircraft fuselage end cargo door comprises one or more of anose cargo door and a tail cargo door.

C16. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C15,wherein the nose cargo door comprises a cockpit area.

C17. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,wherein the fuselage end cargo door comprises a fuselage nose cone.

C18. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph C1,wherein the fuselage end cargo door comprises a fuselage tail cone.

D1. An aircraft comprising:

a fuselage;

an aircraft fuselage end cargo door, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door couples to the fuselage at a major joint line; and

a fuselage end cargo door mechanism comprising:

a hinge rotatably coupling the aircraft fuselage end cargo door to thefuselage, the hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage endcargo door and the fuselage so that an axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door, defined by the hinge, relative to the fuselageis located forward of the major joint line between the aircraft fuselageend cargo door and the fuselage;

wherein an uppermost portion of the major joint line comprises a jointline radius where a portion of the joint line radius formed by theaircraft fuselage end cargo door pivots within another portion of thejoint line radius formed by the fuselage.

D2. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein a center of the joint lineradius is substantially co-located with the axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door.

D3. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein an arc length of the jointline radius has a central angle of about 45° or about 30°, where thecentral angle has a vertex substantially co-located at the axis ofrotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

D4. The aircraft of paragraph D1, comprising a second hinge rotatablycoupling the aircraft fuselage end cargo door to the fuselage, thesecond hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo doorand the fuselage so that a second axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door, defined by the second hinge, relative to thefuselage is located forward of a major joint line between the aircraftfuselage end cargo door and the fuselage.

D5. The aircraft of paragraph D4, wherein the axis of rotation and thesecond axis of rotation are substantially coincident with each other soas to form a common axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor.

D6. The aircraft of paragraph D4, wherein the hinge and the second hingeare laterally spaced from each other, relative to a longitudinal axis ofthe fuselage, so as to stably maintain rotation of the aircraft fuselageend cargo door relative to the fuselage.

D7. The aircraft of paragraph D6, wherein the hinge and the second hingeare laterally spaced from each other a distance of between about sevenfeet and about eight feet.

D8. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein the hinge forms a load pathconfigured to transfer door loads from a nose side of the hinge to afuselage side of the hinge.

D9. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein the axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door is located at least about nine inchesforward of the major joint line.

D10. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein the axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door is located between about nine inchesand about twelve inches forward of the major joint line.

D11. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein a skin of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door, rotating about the axis of rotation, forms anunarticulated monolithic surface.

D12. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein the hinge comprises:

a fuselage-side pivot mount configured to couple with the fuselage; and

a door-side bracket configured to couple with the aircraft fuselage endcargo door;

wherein the door-side bracket is pivotally coupled to the fuselage-sidepivot mount by a bearing.

D13. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of paragraph A12,wherein the bearing is a spherical bearing.

D14. The aircraft of paragraph D12, wherein the hinge is configured sothat, when assembled to the fuselage and aircraft fuselage end cargodoor, the fuselage-side pivot mount is located within an area defined byan edge of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

D15. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door comprises one or more of a nose cargo door and a tail cargodoor.

D16. The aircraft of paragraph D15, wherein the nose cargo doorcomprises a cockpit area.

D17. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door comprises a fuselage nose cone.

D18. The aircraft of paragraph D1, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door comprises a fuselage tail cone.

E1. An aircraft comprising:

a fuselage;

an aircraft fuselage end cargo door, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door couples to the fuselage at a major joint line; and

an aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism comprising:

a pair of hinges rotatably coupling the aircraft fuselage end cargo doorto the fuselage, the pair of hinges being coupled to both the aircraftfuselage end cargo door and the fuselage; and

a common axis of rotation defined by the pair of hinges, where

the aircraft fuselage end cargo door rotates relative to the fuselageabout the common axis of rotation, and

the common axis of rotation is located forward of the major joint linebetween the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage;

wherein a skin of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, rotating aboutthe common axis of rotation, forms an unarticulated monolithic surfaceand a skin of the fuselage adjacent major joint line is unarticulated.

E2. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein an uppermost portion of themajor joint line comprises a joint line radius where a portion of thejoint line radius formed by the aircraft fuselage end cargo door pivotswithin another portion of the joint line radius formed by the fuselage.

E3. The aircraft of paragraph E2, wherein a center of the joint lineradius is substantially co-located with the common axis of rotation.

E4. The aircraft of paragraph E2, wherein an arc length of the jointline radius has a central angle of about 45° or about 30°, where thecentral angle has a vertex substantially co-located at the common axisof rotation.

E5. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein one hinge of the pair ofhinges is laterally spaced from another hinge in the pair of hinges,relative to a longitudinal axis of the fuselage, so as to stablymaintain rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door relative tothe fuselage.

E6. The aircraft of paragraph E5, wherein one hinge of the pair ofhinges is laterally spaced from another hinge of the pair of hinges adistance of between about seven feet and about eight feet.

E7. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein each hinge of the pair ofhinges form a respective load path configured to transfer door loadsfrom a nose side of the hinge to a fuselage side of the hinge.

E8. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein the common axis of rotation islocated at least about nine inches forward of the major joint line.

E9. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein the common axis of rotation islocated between about nine inches and about twelve inches forward of themajor joint line.

E10. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein each hinge of the pair ofhinges comprises:

a fuselage-side pivot mount configured to couple with the fuselage; and

a door-side bracket configured to couple with the aircraft fuselage endcargo door;

wherein the door-side bracket is pivotally coupled to the fuselage-sidepivot mount by a bearing.

E11. The aircraft of paragraph E10, wherein the bearing is a sphericalbearing.

E12. The aircraft of paragraph E10, wherein each hinge of the pair ofhinges is configured so that, when assembled to the fuselage andaircraft fuselage end cargo door, the fuselage-side pivot mount islocated within an area defined by an edge of the aircraft fuselage endcargo door.

E13. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door comprises one or more of a nose cargo door and a tail cargodoor.

E14. The aircraft of paragraph E13, wherein the nose cargo doorcomprises a cockpit area.

E15. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door comprises a fuselage nose cone.

E16. The aircraft of paragraph E1, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door comprises a fuselage tail cone.

F1. An aircraft comprising:

a fuselage;

an aircraft fuselage end cargo door configured to interface with thefuselage; and

an aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism comprising:

a hinge rotatably coupling the aircraft fuselage end cargo door to thefuselage, the hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage endcargo door and the fuselage so as to form an axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door; and

a major joint line defined by the interface between the aircraftfuselage end cargo door and the fuselage, the axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door being located forward of the majorjoint line;

wherein a skin of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, rotating aboutthe axis of rotation, forms an unarticulated monolithic surface and askin of the fuselage adjacent major joint line is unarticulated.

F2. The aircraft of paragraph F1, wherein an uppermost portion of themajor joint line comprises a joint line radius where a portion of thejoint line radius formed by the aircraft fuselage end cargo door pivotswithin another portion of the joint line radius formed by the fuselage.

F3. The aircraft of paragraph F2, wherein a center of the joint lineradius is substantially co-located with the axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door.

F4. The aircraft of paragraph F2, wherein an arc length of the jointline radius has a central angle of about 45° or about 30°, where thecentral angle has a vertex substantially co-located at the axis ofrotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

F5. The aircraft of paragraph F1, comprising a second hinge rotatablycoupling the aircraft fuselage end cargo door to the fuselage, thesecond hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo doorand the fuselage so as to form a second axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door.

F6. The aircraft of paragraph F5, wherein the axis of rotation and thesecond axis of rotation are substantially coincident with each other soas to form a common axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor.

F7. The aircraft of paragraph F5, wherein the hinge and the second hingeare laterally spaced from each other, relative to a longitudinal axis ofthe fuselage, so as to stably maintain rotation of the aircraft fuselageend cargo door relative to the fuselage.

F8. The aircraft of paragraph F7, wherein the hinge and the second hingeare laterally spaced from each other a distance of between about sevenfeet and about eight feet.

F9. The aircraft of paragraph F1, wherein the hinge forms a load pathconfigured to transfer door loads from a nose side of the hinge to afuselage side of the hinge.

F10. The aircraft of paragraph F1, wherein the axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door is located at least about nine inchesforward of the major joint line.

F11. The aircraft of paragraph F1, wherein the axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door is located between about nine inchesand about twelve inches forward of the major joint line.

F12. The aircraft of paragraph F1, wherein the hinge comprises:

a fuselage-side pivot mount configured to couple with the fuselage; and

a door-side bracket configured to couple with the aircraft fuselage endcargo door;

wherein the door-side bracket is pivotally coupled to the fuselage-sidepivot mount by a bearing.

F13. The aircraft of paragraph F12, wherein the bearing is a sphericalbearing.

F14. The aircraft of paragraph F12, wherein the hinge is configured sothat, when assembled to the fuselage and aircraft fuselage end cargodoor, the fuselage-side pivot mount is located within an area defined byan edge of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.

F15. The aircraft of paragraph F1, wherein the aircraft fuselage endcargo door comprises one or more of a nose cargo door and a tail cargodoor.

F16. The aircraft of paragraph F15, wherein the nose cargo doorcomprises a cockpit area.

F17. The aircraft of paragraph F1, wherein the fuselage end cargo doorcomprises a fuselage nose cone.

F18. The aircraft of paragraph F1, wherein the fuselage end cargo doorcomprises a fuselage tail cone.

In the figures, referred to above, solid lines, if any, connectingvarious elements and/or components may represent mechanical, electrical,fluid, optical, electromagnetic, wireless and other couplings and/orcombinations thereof. As used herein, “coupled” means associateddirectly as well as indirectly. For example, a member A may be directlyassociated with a member B, or may be indirectly associated therewith,e.g., via another member C. It will be understood that not allrelationships among the various disclosed elements are necessarilyrepresented. Accordingly, couplings other than those depicted in thedrawings may also exist. Dashed lines, if any, connecting blocksdesignating the various elements and/or components represent couplingssimilar in function and purpose to those represented by solid lines;however, couplings represented by the dashed lines may either beselectively provided or may relate to alternative examples of thepresent disclosure. Likewise, elements and/or components, if any,represented with dashed lines, indicate alternative examples of thepresent disclosure. One or more elements shown in solid and/or dashedlines may be omitted from a particular example without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure. Environmental elements, if any, arerepresented with dotted lines. Virtual (imaginary) elements may also beshown for clarity. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that some ofthe features illustrated in the figures, may be combined in various wayswithout the need to include other features described in the figures,other drawing figures, and/or the accompanying disclosure, even thoughsuch combination or combinations are not explicitly illustrated herein.Similarly, additional features not limited to the examples presented,may be combined with some or all of the features shown and describedherein.

In FIGS. 10 and 11 , referred to above, the blocks may representoperations and/or portions thereof and lines connecting the variousblocks do not imply any particular order or dependency of the operationsor portions thereof. Blocks represented by dashed lines indicatealternative operations and/or portions thereof. Dashed lines, if any,connecting the various blocks represent alternative dependencies of theoperations or portions thereof. It will be understood that not alldependencies among the various disclosed operations are necessarilyrepresented. FIGS. 10 and 11 and the accompanying disclosure describingthe operations of the method(s) set forth herein should not beinterpreted as necessarily determining a sequence in which theoperations are to be performed. Rather, although one illustrative orderis indicated, it is to be understood that the sequence of the operationsmay be modified when appropriate. Accordingly, certain operations may beperformed in a different order or substantially simultaneously.Additionally, those skilled in the art will appreciate that not alloperations described need be performed.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the disclosed concepts, which may bepracticed without some or all of these particulars. In other instances,details of known devices and/or processes have been omitted to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. While some concepts will bedescribed in conjunction with specific examples, it will be understoodthat these examples are not intended to be limiting.

Unless otherwise indicated, the terms “first,” “second,” etc. are usedherein merely as labels, and are not intended to impose ordinal,positional, or hierarchical requirements on the items to which theseterms refer. Moreover, reference to, e.g., a “second” item does notrequire or preclude the existence of, e.g., a “first” or lower-numbereditem, and/or, e.g., a “third” or higher-numbered item.

Reference herein to “one example” means that one or more feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example isincluded in at least one implementation. The phrase “one example” invarious places in the specification may or may not be referring to thesame example.

As used herein, a system, apparatus, structure, article, element,component, or hardware “configured to” perform a specified function isindeed capable of performing the specified function without anyalteration, rather than merely having potential to perform the specifiedfunction after further modification. In other words, the system,apparatus, structure, article, element, component, or hardware“configured to” perform a specified function is specifically selected,created, implemented, utilized, programmed, and/or designed for thepurpose of performing the specified function. As used herein,“configured to” denotes existing characteristics of a system, apparatus,structure, article, element, component, or hardware which enable thesystem, apparatus, structure, article, element, component, or hardwareto perform the specified function without further modification. Forpurposes of this disclosure, a system, apparatus, structure, article,element, component, or hardware described as being “configured to”perform a particular function may additionally or alternatively bedescribed as being “adapted to” and/or as being “operative to” performthat function.

Different examples of the apparatus(es) and method(s) disclosed hereininclude a variety of components, features, and functionalities. Itshould be understood that the various examples of the apparatus(es) andmethod(s) disclosed herein may include any of the components, features,and functionalities of any of the other examples of the apparatus(es)and method(s) disclosed herein in any combination, and all of suchpossibilities are intended to be within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Many modifications of examples set forth herein will come to mind to oneskilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains having thebenefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and theassociated drawings.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not tobe limited to the specific examples illustrated and that modificationsand other examples are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing description and theassociated drawings describe examples of the present disclosure in thecontext of certain illustrative combinations of elements and/orfunctions, it should be appreciated that different combinations ofelements and/or functions may be provided by alternative implementationswithout departing from the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly,parenthetical reference numerals in the appended claims are presentedfor illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scopeof the claimed subject matter to the specific examples provided in thepresent disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanismcomprising: a hinge rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage end cargodoor to a fuselage, the hinge being coupled to both the aircraftfuselage end cargo door and the fuselage so that an entirety of an axisof rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, defined by thehinge, relative to the fuselage is located forward of an entirety of amajor joint line between the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and thefuselage; wherein an uppermost portion of the major joint line comprisesa joint line radius where a portion of the joint line radius formed bythe aircraft fuselage end cargo door pivots within another portion ofthe joint line radius formed by the fuselage.
 2. The aircraft fuselageend cargo door mechanism of claim 1, wherein a center of the joint lineradius is substantially co-located with the axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door.
 3. The aircraft fuselage end cargodoor mechanism of claim 1, wherein an arc length of the joint lineradius has a central angle of about 45° or about 30°, where the centralangle has a vertex substantially co-located at the axis of rotation ofthe aircraft fuselage end cargo door.
 4. The aircraft fuselage end cargodoor mechanism of claim 1, comprising a second hinge rotatably couplingthe aircraft fuselage end cargo door to the fuselage, the second hingebeing coupled to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and thefuselage so that an entirety of a second axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door, defined by the second hinge, relativeto the fuselage is located forward of an entirety of the major jointline between the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage. 5.The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of claim 4, wherein theaxis of rotation and the second axis of rotation are substantiallycoincident with each other so as to form a common axis of rotation ofthe aircraft fuselage end cargo door.
 6. The aircraft fuselage end cargodoor mechanism of claim 4, wherein the hinge and the second hinge arelaterally spaced from each other, relative to a longitudinal axis of thefuselage, so as to stably maintain rotation of the aircraft fuselage endcargo door relative to the fuselage.
 7. The aircraft fuselage end cargodoor mechanism of claim 1, wherein the hinge forms a load pathconfigured to transfer door loads from a nose side of the hinge to afuselage side of the hinge.
 8. The aircraft fuselage end cargo doormechanism of claim 1, wherein the hinge comprises: a fuselage-side pivotmount configured to couple with the fuselage; and a door-side bracketconfigured to couple with the aircraft fuselage end cargo door; whereinthe door-side bracket is pivotally coupled to the fuselage-side pivotmount by a bearing.
 9. An aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanismcomprising: a pair of hinges rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage endcargo door to a fuselage, the pair of hinges being coupled to both theaircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage; and a common axis ofrotation defined by the pair of hinges, where the aircraft fuselage endcargo door rotates relative to the fuselage about the common axis ofrotation, and an entirety of the common axis of rotation is locatedforward of an entirety of a major joint line between the aircraftfuselage end cargo door and the fuselage; wherein a skin of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door, rotating about the common axis of rotation,forms an unarticulated monolithic surface and a skin of the fuselageadjacent the major joint line is unarticulated.
 10. The aircraftfuselage end cargo door mechanism of claim 9, wherein one hinge of thepair of hinges is laterally spaced from another hinge in the pair ofhinges, relative to a longitudinal axis of the fuselage, so as to stablymaintain rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door relative tothe fuselage.
 11. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism ofclaim 9, wherein the aircraft fuselage end cargo door comprises one ormore of a nose cargo door and a tail cargo door.
 12. The aircraftfuselage end cargo door mechanism of claim 11, wherein the nose cargodoor comprises a cockpit area.
 13. The aircraft fuselage end cargo doormechanism of claim 9, wherein the fuselage end cargo door comprises afuselage nose cone.
 14. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanismof claim 9, wherein the fuselage end cargo door comprises a fuselagetail cone.
 15. An aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism comprising:a hinge rotatably coupling an aircraft fuselage end cargo door to afuselage, the hinge being coupled to both the aircraft fuselage endcargo door and the fuselage so as to form an axis of rotation of theaircraft fuselage end cargo door; and a major joint line defined by aninterface between the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage,where an entirety of the axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage endcargo door is located forward of an entirety of the major joint line;wherein a skin of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door, rotating aboutthe axis of rotation, forms an unarticulated monolithic surface and askin of the fuselage adjacent the major joint line is unarticulated. 16.The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of claim 15, wherein anuppermost portion of the major joint line comprises a joint line radiuswhere a portion of the joint line radius formed by the aircraft fuselageend cargo door pivots within another portion of the joint line radiusformed by the fuselage.
 17. The aircraft fuselage end cargo doormechanism of claim 16, wherein a center of the joint line radius issubstantially co-located with the axis of rotation of the aircraftfuselage end cargo door.
 18. The aircraft fuselage end cargo doormechanism of claim 16, comprising a second hinge rotatably coupling theaircraft fuselage end cargo door to the fuselage, the second hinge beingcoupled to both the aircraft fuselage end cargo door and the fuselage soas to form a second axis of rotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargodoor.
 19. The aircraft fuselage end cargo door mechanism of claim 18,wherein the axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation aresubstantially coincident with each other so as to form a common axis ofrotation of the aircraft fuselage end cargo door.
 20. The aircraftfuselage end cargo door mechanism of claim 15, wherein the aircraftfuselage end cargo door comprises one or more of a nose cargo door and atail cargo door.